A thought experiment can help visualize the challenge of achieving distinctive color patterns. Imagine gently adding a drop of blue and red dye to a cup of water. The drops will slowly disperse ...

There are many purposes that spots and stripes serve in nature, but how they form has been more of a mystery to scientists. Now, researchers have advanced their breakthrough theory – and it could help ...

More than 70 years ago, mathematician Alan Turing proposed a mechanism that explained how patterns could emerge from bland uniformity. Scientists are still using his model—and adding new twists—to ...

Nature creates incredible works of living art through its many different animal patterns, such as a leopard’s spots or a zebra’s stripes. But how do animals get these unique designs, and why are no ...

The poison dart frog has plenty of enemies in the wild, from birds and bats, to snakes and fish. It has many ways of protecting itself: its poison ooze, its speed. But equally as effective are its ...

New research by University of Alberta scientists shows that one movement started by a single individual ripples through the entire group of animals and helps them form intricate and complicated ...

What do swimmers like trout, eels and sandfish lizards have in common? According to a new study, the similar timing patterns that these animals use to contract their muscles and produce undulatory ...